1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image data storage apparatus for storing scanned image data. The storage apparatus is adapted to be connected to a photographic printing system including a film reader for reading images of frames of a photographic film, an image processor for generating image data to be printed, based on scanned image data generated from the film reader, and a printing means for printing images on a recording medium based on the printing image data.
2. Description of the Related Art
A digital type photographic printing system often installed in a photographic developing/printing service shop includes, as its main component, an image processing unit for processing digitized image data. This image processing unit generates image data to be printed by the printing means, based on scanned image data of the photographic film frame images read by the film reader. And, based on the generated image data, the printing means prints frame images on a variety of recording media such as a print paper, a recording paper or the like.
The basic task of such photographic printing system is to receive a customer""s order for printing of a photographic film and then to make the requested prints. Hence, according to the convention, in the case of a so-called reprinting also, upon receipt from a customer a photographic film including a frame image to be reprinted, this frame image is read again by the film reader and then reprinted. However, if a photographic film is charged into the film reader for each occasion of its reprinting, this may damage the film. Or, a customer may have lost the film at all.
In order to avoid such problem, according to a system known from e.g. Japanese Patent Application xe2x80x9cKokaixe2x80x9d No: 2000-354123, when a photographic print was once produced based on image data transmitted from the film reader, this image data used for the production of the photographic print is stored in a storage unit of the image processor and then recorded in a long-term storage medium such as a hard disc or a CD-R to be ready for use in a reprinting operation which may be needed in future. However, if the photographic printing system has to provide such additional function of recording image data on such recording medium, this will require significant hardware and/or software modification of the system. Moreover, in recording the image data, if the data is subjected to an irreversible compression such as in the JPEG format in consideration of storage capacity of the recording medium, image quality deterioration will occur when the compressed image data is decompressed.
According to a further system known from e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 6,169,596, the system includes an image server provided between the film reader and a printer (image processor) for temporarily storing scanned image data transmitted from the film reader, with allowing retrieval of the image data when needed. With this system providing the function of temporary storage of scanned image data from a film reader, however, when an occasion arises for urgent production of a print of a photographic film, it will take a considerable time for the image server to relay (involving reading and writing of the data) the scanned image data which usually has a significant data size.
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described state of the art. The principal object of the invention is to provide possibility of storage of image data of a frame image of a photographic film transmitted from the film reader, with minimizing reduction in the overall processing speed of the photographic printing system.
For accomplishing the above-noted object, the invention proposes an image data storage apparatus which comprises: an image data recording means for retrievably recording scanned image data generated by a film reader; a branch transmission path for allowing the scanned image data being transmitted from the film reader to an image processor of a photographic printing system to be transmitted also to said image data recording means; and means for switching over between a mode for transmitting the scanned image data from the film reader to the image processor and a further mode for transmitting the scanned image data retrieved from said image data recording means to the image processor.
Namely, according to the above-described construction proposed by the present invention, when the scanned image data read by the film reader is transmitted to the image processor for generating printing image data and to the image data storage apparatus for storing the scanned image data, instead of transmitting the scanned image data individually to the processor and also to the storage apparatus, the branch transmission path functions to allow the scanned image data being transmitted from the film reader to the image processor to be directly transmitted to the image data recording means of the image data storage apparatus.
Therefore, the film reader can transmit the scanned image data to both the image processor and the image data storage apparatus, as if transmitting the data only to the image processor. As a result, the image data storage apparatus can store the scanned image data of the frame image of the photographic film, with substantially no reduction in the processing speed of the photographic printing system.
Looking this differently from a perspective of the image processor, although the image processor basically functions to receive scanned image data from the film reader as its main source of such scanned image data, with switchover by the switchover means to the further mode for receiving scanned image data from the image data storage apparatus, the processor can receive the scanned image data stored in the image data storage apparatus, just like receiving the scanned image data from the film reader.
According to one preferred embodiment of the invention, the image data storage apparatus further comprises a transmission path branching unit for connecting said branch transmission path to an intermediate position on a data transmission path from the film reader to the image processor. That is, the transmission path branching unit provides the branch transmission path branching from the intermediate portion of the transmission path extending from the film reader to the image processor. This construction allows addition of the branch transmission path, while minimizing associated change required for that addition in the configurations of the film reader and the image processor from the standard apparatus construction having the transmission path for transmitting scanned image data from the film reader to the image processor, thus minimizing additional cost of the apparatus.
According to a further embodiment of the invention, said image data recording means is adapted for storing the scanned image data in a plurality of hard disc units and also for dividing the scanned image data to be distributed to the plurality of hard disc units to be stored therein respectively; and the apparatus further comprises writing controlling means for causing the respective hard disc devices to write the distributed data therein in a parallel manner. In the case of the above-described apparatus construction which allows the scanned image data being transmitted from the film reader to the image processor to be transmitted directly also to the image data storage apparatus, if the storage processing speed of the image data storage apparatus is low, this will inevitably result in reduction in the transmission rate of the scanned image data from the film reader to the image processor. On the other hand, if the recording medium for the image data provided in the image storage apparatus is constructed of a semiconductor memory capable of high-speed writing in order to be allow storage of a large amount of image data, this will significantly increase the apparatus cost. Then, the above construction employs a plurality of hard disc units each of which is less capable of high-speed writing than the semiconductor memory, but is available at relatively low costs and divides the scanned image data received from the film reader to be distributed to these hard disc units respectively so that the hard disc units write the data in parallel manner. With this, the storage processing speed of the image storage apparatus can be improved while restricting increase in the total apparatus cost.
According to a still further embodiment of the invention, said writing controlling means designates a writing position of the scanned image data for each hard disc unit such that the unit writes the data sequentially in consecutive physical sectors of the unit. That is to say, when each hard disc unit writes the scanned image data transmitted from the film reader, the unit writes the data in its consecutive physical sectors thereof, rather than making a so-called system file for writing the scanned image data in an appropriate vacant area thereof. This construction is advantageous for restricting the amount of seek movement of the recording head of the hard disc unit required for the writing operation, whereby the writing operation to the hard disc unit can be carried out even more speedily.
Further and other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent upon reading the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.